Joshua 10:20

Jos 10:20 And it came to pass, when Joshua and the children of Israel had made an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter, till they were consumed, that the rest [which] remained of them entered into fenced cities.

Ver. 20. Entered into their fenced cities.] Which yet could not long secure them: their preservation was but a reservation.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jos 10:20-21. Joshua and the children of Israel — Rather, the children of Israel, by the command of Joshua; for Joshua himself went not with them, but abode at the siege before Makkedah. And all the people returned to the camp — To the body of the army, who were encamped there with Joshua, to besiege that place. In peace — That is, in safety; all that detachment sent to pursue the enemies came back safe to the camp; not a man of them was lost, or so much as wounded. None moved his tongue — Not only their men of war could not find their hands, but they were so confounded that they could not move their tongues to reproach any of the children of Israel, as doubtless they did when the Israelites were first repulsed and smitten at Ai: but now they were silenced as well as conquered.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20. the rest] i.e. broken remnants of the fugitives.

fenced cities] “the strengthid citees,” Wyclif, = the fortified towns of great strength and impregnable position. Comp. Num_32:17; Deu_3:5; Deu_9:1; Jos_14:12; 1Sa_6:18, &c. The fortifications of the cities of Palestine regularly fenced, consisted of one or more walls crowned with battlemented parapets, having towers at regular intervals (2Ch_32:5; Jer_31:38), on which in later times engines of war were placed, and in time of war watch was kept night and day (Jdg_9:46-47; 2Ki_9:17; 2Ch_26:9; 2Ch_26:15). The earlier Egyptian fortifications consisted of a quadrangular and sometimes double wall of sun-dried brick, fifteen feet thick, and often fifty feet in height, with square towers at intervals of the same height as the walls, both crowned with a parapet, and a round-headed battlement in shape like a shield. See Smith’s Bib. Dict. 1:616.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace,.... Sound and well, as not one killed or missing, so not one wounded, as the Vulgate Latin version,"sound and in full number:"

none moved his tongue against any of the children of Israel; as to curse them, reproach them, and speak ill of them, for invading them, and using them in the manner they did, such was the terror that was upon them. It may be supplied, "not a dog moved" his tongue, as in Exo 11:7; as it was with them when they came out of Egypt, so it was when they entered the land of Canaan. It seems to be a proverbial expression, as Ben Gersom observes, signifying that no harm was done to them by word or deed.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

i.e. Joshua by the children of Israel; or the children of Israel, i.e. a party of them, by the command, direction, and encouragement of Joshua; for Joshua himself went not with them, but abode in the siege before Makkedah, Jos 10:21.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

20. Till they were consumed — That is, utterly defeated, demoralized, and dispersed.

That the rest which remained — These words and the restof this verse should be put in parentheses and rendered, And the survivors escaped from them and went into fortified cities. The sense of this passage is, therefore, well expressed by Keil: “Only a remnant of them was left, and they took refuge in the fortified cities.” The parenthesis thus qualifies the clause till they were consumed.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Until they were consumed. An expression not necessarily involving the destruction of every individual, but the entire annihilation of them as an army. A few scattered fugitives only remained, who sought the protection of the fortified towns. "Si ca quae per Moysen de tabernaculo vel sacrificiis, et omni illo cultu adumbrabantur, typus ct umbra dicuntur esse ccelestium, sine dubio et bella quae per Jesum geruntur, et regmn et hostium strages, ecelestium rerum umbra et typus esse dicenda aunt, eorum auntaxat bellorum quae Dominus noster Jesus cure suo exercitu et magistratibus id est credentium populis atquo eorum ducibus contra diabolum et ejus angelos praeliatur" (Orig., Hom. 12 on Joshua). Fenced cities. These were

(1) walled,

(2) crowned with battlements (twONpi), and

(3) defended by towers. See for further information the article in Smith"s "Dictionary of the Bible."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The children of Israel - That is, a party of them by the command of Joshua; for Joshua himself went not with them, but abode in the siege before Makkedah, ver. 21.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

When the great battle and the pursuit of the enemy were ended, and such as remained had reached their fortified towns, the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace, i.e., without being attacked by anybody. "There pointed not (a dog) its tongue against the sons of Israel, against any one" (see at Exo 11:7). לאישׁ is in apposition to ישׂראל לבני, and serves to define it more precisely. It is possible, however, to regard the ל as a copyist's error, as Houbigant and Maurer do, in which case אישׁ would be the nominative to the verb.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

Makkedah

Translate the same way as you did in Joshua 10:10. (See: How to Translate Names)

No one dared to say one word against

"No one dared to say anything against" or "No one dared to complain or protest against"

translationWords

Joshua

Israel

slaughter

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.